Hong Kong secretary for culture, sports, and tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui opines that Mainland China will remain the territory’s primary source market for at least another five years.

This is despite the release of a new strategic blueprint for the development of Hong Kong’s bustling tourism sector.

In a recent interview, Law said: “The fact that mainlanders constitute the largest number of tourists to Hong Kong will not change in five years because of the proximity between Hong Kong and other mainland cities.”

Nevertheless, Law is confident that the number of foreign travellers would continue to rise, citing an over 30 percent year-on-year increase throughout the recent holiday season.

She said: “As for whether international tourists will increase, that is my goal. And I am very confident that the city can achieve that.”

A necessary blueprint

Hong Kong officials recently unveiled a highly-anticipated tourism industry development blueprint, which aims to boost the economy by US$15.5 billion and employ 210,000 people over the next five years.

The blueprint highlights pandas, horse racing, mega events, and smart initiatives among its strategies to draw in overseas arrivals.

Likewise, the blueprint put an emphasis on Hong Kong’s role as a hub for international and multi-destination tourism where East meets West.